The Federal Police of Brazil on Monday arrested former finance minister Antonio Palocci in connection with an ongoing corruption probe. The former minister is accused of being involved with a host of other government officials who worked under the administrations of former presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff and illegally conspired with [...]

The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) signed a peace agreement on Monday that ends a more than 50-year conflict. The agreement was finalized in August after four years of negotiations in Havana, Cuba. Witnesses to the signing included UN secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US secretary of state John Kerry, as well [...]

The National Assembly of Pakistan on Monday approved a bill that allows the Hindu community to legally register their marriages. Rights groups applauded the passing of the Hindu marriage bill as it will lead to greater protection for female members of the minority Hindu community who will now be able to provide proof of marriage. [...]

The FBI on Monday reported an increase in violent crime during 2015 and decrease in property crimes . Crime in the United States, 2015 revealed the first increase in violent crime in recent years, although property crimes have been declining each year for over a decade. While the report showed a 3.9 percent rise in [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Monday that American Express (Amex) can enforce rules that ban merchants accepting its credit cards from directing customers to its competitors’ cards. The court reversed a lower court’s determination that Amex’s agreements with merchants impermissibly restrained trade in violation of antitrust laws. The court held: [...]

UN human rights expert Dubravka Šimonović called Monday for women to participate in a new peace process between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). Šimonović suggested that reducing violence against women and supporting gender equality will assist in achieving peace in the region. Her comments were made at the end of her first official [...]

A Spanish court began hearing the fraud trial of former International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Rodrigo Rato and more than 60 other bankers on Monday concerning allegations the defendants fraudulently used secret credit cards from Bankia bank to pay for personal luxuries. Rato also served as economic minister of Spain, was a member of the [...]

A southern China court on Monday sentenced three prominent labor organizers to suspended prison terms, almost nine months after they were arrested during a crackdown on civic organizations working outside of the Communist Party. Zeng Feiyang, who was indicted on claims of “gathering a crowd to disturb social order” was sentenced to three years with [...]

Swiss voters on Sunday voted to approve a new surveillance law allowing their national intelligence service broad powers to spy on ‘terrorist’ suspects and cyber criminals, as well as the ability to cooperate with foreign intelligence agencies. While Switzerland is a country where the right to privacy is considered very important, the new law will [...]

Pakistani police are committing serious human rights abuses , Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Monday, calling for a complete overhaul of the country’s police system. The report , “This Crooked System,” looks at the history of the Pakistani police and details occurrences of arbitrary arrest, torture, extra-judicial killings and sexual violence, especially among religious minorities [...]